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When it comes to infidelity - it’s no longer a man’s world. Recent research suggests that married women now pursue extramarital affairs at the same rate as their male counterparts.

These findings are part of a study commissioned by controversial extramarital dating site Ashley Madison. The dating site whose tagline is “Life is short, have an affair,” delved into data from over 24 million members and found that although it definitely takes two to tango, women are initiating affairs just as often as men. This research that has since been published in Ashley Madison’s founder and CEO, Noel Biderman’s recent book Adultropology: The Cyber Anthropology Behind Anthropology. Whether this is scientific fact, or merely a manipulative marketing tactic to gain more female subscribers from a company that embodies the term “moral grey area,” is yet to be determined. However, it does provide food for thought.

If Don Draper and his Mad Men colleagues have taught us anything, it’s that extramarital affairs are nothing new. However, infidelity has long been seen as something something distinctly male. For better or for worse, Noel Biderman wants to change that perception. “It’s a common misconception that women are the more faithful sex,” says Biderman. “Up until recently, women weren’t offered the same opportunities as men in regards to committing infidelity. Now, as traditional family roles change, with more gender equality in the workforce, and with the accessibility of technology, many women find themselves in situations where they’re able to actively seek out a way to have their physical desires met that are often left unfulfilled at home.”

By being so democratically accessible, the internet has become the ultimate leveling of the playing field, at least when it comes to cheating - something that companies like Ashley Madison have capitalized on. However, as much as these statistics may seem shocking, it could also be true that married women have always had just as many extramarital affairs as men - we’re just hearing about it more about it, precisely because of the same technological advances.

Biderman conveniently believes that monogamy is not innate in humans - an opinion he has made very public in support of his business venture. In a recent interview with Bloomberg TV he was quoted as saying, if you cheat “it just means you’re struggling with monogamy. It doesn’t mean you’re a sociopath.” This may be true, however infidelity still has the potential to cause great emotional harm for those involved. In other words, just because we all can cheat, doesn’t mean we should. While the debate regarding the innateness of monogamy rages on, one thing is for sure: At the end of the day, monogamy is a choice. My advice? Choose wisely.